


New tricks for an old dog

by emmadilla



Series: 30 Day OTP Challenge [8]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, Canon Compliant, F/M, Fun, Post-Canon, Post-War, Rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 14:21:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17510240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmadilla/pseuds/emmadilla
Summary: When Aang catches Katara water bending in the rain, he can't help but admire her skill.





	New tricks for an old dog

**Author's Note:**

> 30 Day OTP Challenge
> 
> Day 8: On A Rainy Day
> 
> \-----
> 
> First ATLA fic! Yay! :D

Rain pelted the roof, falling in such heavy sheets that it woke Aang from a deep sleep. Blinking slowly, the world reasserted itself gradually as the Avatar stretched and yawned and eventually sat up. The war was over, the Fire Lord was vanquished, and now the world had a chance to start anew. Zuko was busy asserted control over the Fire Nation - under the watchful, helpful eye of Iroh, of course - Toph was now revelling in her newfound power, starting a metal bending class in the Earth Kingdom, and Sokka was off helping his father rebuild the Water Tribe. Katara was the only one that had stuck with him during this strange transition period, but when he rose, he didn’t see her anywhere. _Hmm, where could she be?_ he wondered as he wandered through the cottage, calling out her name. She didn’t seem to be inside at all, and so he finally slid open the door, stopping short as soon as he got a view of the courtyard.

 

Katara was out there, in the middle of a rainstorm, practicing water bending. Her control was impressive, her technique nigh flawless, and her periphery abilities were so high that at this point, the rain didn’t even touch her, sliding off of the bubble she’d created for herself. Aang could do something similar, though he normally used air bending. Katara used the rain itself, however, to create her barrier, and Aang just stood there, in awe of his girlfriend and her abilities.

 

He supposed he forgot, sometimes, how powerful Katara could really be. He had been unconscious, of course, when she’d healed him from what should have been a fatal wound from Azula, but he had heard what happened. Sokka in particular had regaled him in pretty explicit detail. But hearing about it and seeing that kind of power in action was two different things. Every movement of hers was graceful, effortless, like she was barely even thinking about what she was doing, like the bending was just a natural extension of herself that was just _there_. What was really crazy to him was that he still remembered the early days, when she struggled just to master the basics, when every movement she made required effort and concentration. Now it looked like she was simply doing the motions in her sleep, and the element bent to her unconscious will, it was that seamless. Aang simply stood there on the porch, watching, entranced by it all.

 

When she finally opened her eyes, she startled to find that she wasn’t alone, almost losing control of her bubble and all the water that would come crashing down on top of her. She recovered at the last second, tossing him a playful glare before she demanded, “What are you doing just standing there?”

 

Aang grinned. “Watching you.”

 

“Watching me? Why?”

 

He tried to play it off cool, but the light blush that coloured his cheeks gave him away easily. “It’s just really cool watching a master up close.”

 

It was Katara’s turn to blush. Being paid a compliment on bending was one thing, but when that compliment came from the _Avatar,_ the one who had just defeated the Fire Lord … now that was something. “You … you really think I’m _that_ good?”

 

“Of course!” He used air bending to create a bubble of his own and went to join her in the courtyard. “You use water bending in ways I hadn’t even really thought of before. Like your bubble! I use the air for that, but you’re just bending the water to go around you. And you’re doing it _passively_ while you do other bending.” He fixed her with a wide, bright smile. “That’s really cool, Katara.”

 

She smiled softly before her smirk solidified. “Thanks, Aang … but what about _this_?” She waved her arms and brought her hands together, one just above the other, pulling some of the water from outside the bubble inside, swirling around her. It took a moment for the water to form into her intention, and when it did, Aang’s jaw dropped.

 

Pointing, he yelled, “Hey, that’s _my_ trick! How are you even doing that with water?” And indeed it was, an imitation of his cool marble trick that he liked to show off, but with little water orbs instead.

 

Katara cackled. “You’re the great Avatar, figure it out!”

 

Glaring and stomping off to another section of the courtyard, he yelled back, “I will! Nobody beats me at my own trick! Just you wait, I’ll show you!” Creasing his eyebrows, he poured all of his concentration on the water around him, manipulating it how he wanted it, trying different techniques and maneuvers … but no matter how he bent the water, it just didn’t want to cooperate the same way that Katara had done it. He got _close_ , but … he just couldn’t get the water orb part down. _What am I missing?_

 

Sensing his frustration, Katara offered a couple of times to show him, but he adamantly refused, wanting to master it himself. She eventually shrugged and left the courtyard, intending on getting some breakfast. Aang stayed to practice, but the smell of food tempted him until he couldn’t hold out any longer. Defeated, he trudged into the cottage, plopping himself down at the table and digging into the breakfast that Katara had made. “Did you figure it out?” she asked casually.

 

“ _No_ ,” he pouted.

 

Chuckling, she asked him, “You wanna know the technique behind it?”

 

He grumbled, but eventually acquiesced, knowing that the endeavour would be seemingly endless without some sort of help. When she explained, his eyebrows furrowed, as the technique was far more familiar than he’d even thought. “But … but that’s air bending, Katara. That’s how I do _my_ trick.”

 

“I know. I got the idea from you,” she said with a wink. “Remember when Zuko was talking about how Iroh showed him lightning redirection? How he said the best benders borrowed techniques from other disciplines and applied it to their own? That’s all I did.”

 

Of course. That was it. Aang had been trying techniques rooted in water bending, but Katara had gained the skill using techniques based on his own air bending. That was why it hadn’t worked, because the skill wasn’t natively water bending, it was all based in air movements. Why hadn’t he seen that? Grinning in triumph, he laughed, “Ha, just you wait, now! Nobody beats me at my own trick!”

 

Catching himself in a yawn after his substantial breakfast, he added, “Well, maybe after a nap …”

 

Rolling her eyes, Katara asked, “Did you just get up a little bit ago?”

 

“Hey, I was trying to figure out your technique all morning! We had breakfast so late, it’s almost lunchtime!”

 

“And whose fault was that? I could have told you how I did it ages ago if you’d let me.”

 

Pouting again, he folded his arms. “After saving the world, you think a guy could get a nap whenever he wanted.”

 

Laughing softly, Katara waved him off. “Go on, I’ll take care of the dishes this time.” Bending over to give his forehead a kiss, one that made a little colour rise in his cheeks, she added, “Just remember, you owe me.”


End file.
